War of the Idiots
Here is my contribution for this week’s Mondays Finish the Story. This is hosted by Barbara Beacham and we need to write between 100 and 150 words in response to a photo, and using the supplied first sentence (which doesn’t count towards the word count, and is in bold in my story).
I have popped a little bit of history at the end just in case, but read the story first! This week’s other contributions can be found by clicking on the little blue froggy.
The house of Don Francisco sat in a remote part of the desert. A conspiracy theorist, he lived alone and had fortified his basement against “Commies”, terrorists, nuclear and biological attack, the government even. Shelves held canned foods, bottled water, a book or two to read. A small generator provided electricity. He was ready!
Years later he switched on the radio and was aghast to hear bulletins advising of an alien invasion. The world was in peril! He quickly ran to his basement and locked the door.
After long months, his supplies exhausted, Don Francisco finally emerged, emaciated and weak. He staggered to the road and hailed a passing car.
“Did… we win?” he stammered.
“Dude. Win what? You need an ambulance, dude?” asked the driver, a long-haired youth.
“Nine months ago… war… aliens… on the radio…” Francisco managed.
“You mean that Orson Welles retrospective? Dude, can you believe in 1938 people thought it was for real? How stupid… oh. Dude.”
In 1938, as part of “The Mercury Theatre on the Air” series, an adaptation of HG Wells’ “War of the Worlds” was broadcast on the radio as a series of mock news bulletins, apparently causing wide-spread panic as people believed it to be real. Dude! 🙂
😆 Poor guy
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Heh heh 🙂
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LOL! Too funny!
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Glad you liked it 🙂
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I have always wondered how anyone could have believe that in the first place 🙂
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Maybe in the 1930s people believed everything they heard on the radio, like nowadays everybody believes everything they read on the interweb 🙂
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If you can’t trust Orson Welles, who can you trust?
I guess it could have been worse….
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Yeah, who’d’ve thought he was such an untrustworthy fellow?
I’ll watch the YouTube when I get home from work.
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Dude! Cool story!
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Dude! Thanks!
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Great story! Bringing in the Orson Welles radio broadcast was brilliant! It also brought to mind that movie with Alicia Silverstone and Brandon Fraser: “Blast from the Past.” Thank you again for participating and stay tuned for the upcoming challenge! Happy new year to you! ^..^
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Glad you enjoyed it! Not sure how my brain got from Don Francisco to Orson Welles, but hey 🙂
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It worked! 🙂
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Excellent~ I really do sympathise with him ~ All those months without the internet ~ Very sad!
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I guess he thought if he had the internet “people” would be able to track him! I wonder how many times he read through his books?
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Ali, Poor old dude. That’s what can happen when you mistrust “everybody”. Humorous and well done story.:) — Suzanne
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There are people like that about. Ironically, the only person he trusted was Orson Welles and his broadcast!
Glad you liked it!
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HaHa! Clever and entertaining.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!
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All true real! Surviorist, you just have to love them.
DJ
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They’re in their own little world 🙂
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Great take on this prompt.
Congratulations and Happy New Year.
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Thanks, and a Happy New Year to you too!
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Just came by to bring you some Pawkisses for a Happy New Year 🙂 ❤
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Happy New Year to you too 🙂
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People would believe it if it happened now, too. I’m sure of it! 🙂 Great take, Ali.
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Yeah, I reckon you’re right! Thanks.
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People are so dumb sometimes lol. Have a wonderful New Year 2015 🙂
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They certainly are! Happy New Year 🙂
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Ha.. yes I guess some people are easier to fool than others… but I guess radio would not have a lot of impact …
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Not these days, certainly.
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Hey Dude, cool story. News in the 30’s was still news, not like today’s news. I can see people believing the alien story, science wasn’t available to the masses back then.
On Discovery channel they did a “documentary” on mermaids. Full of actors playing eye witness’s, professors and so on. It was trash. Yet there were people that believed it because it was the Discovery channel.
In 2014 people believed in mermaids.
Don’t you dare go there!!
Happy New Year Big Guy. Hugs
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I love that Discovery Channel thing. They make these “mockumentaries” quite realistic sometimes.
I can well understand that people believed the mock bulletins on the radio back in the 30s though. They weren’t used to so much fiction on that new-fangled wireless.
Happy New Year to you too 🙂
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